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Path: utzoo!hoptoad!daisy!atari!portal!cup.portal.com!Patrick_A_Townson
From: Patrick_A_Townson@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: misc.misc,alt.flame,news.admin
Subject: Where JJ Got The Idea (I Think)
Message-ID: <6008@cup.portal.com>
Date: 28 May 88 15:11:03 GMT
References: <10381@ism780c.UUCP> <3029@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
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Do any of you read Bob Greene, the syndicated columnist in the [Chicago
Tribune]? He appears in several newspapers.

A few months ago, Greene got a letter from a college student at the University
of Illinois/Champaign-Urbana with a similar scheme. This fellow also had a
hard luck story about not being able to pay for school. He wanted everyone
in the United States to mail him *a single penny each*.

Greene ran a column about the fellow, and his plan to finance his college
education at a minimal expense to everyone in America. He ran the fellow's
post office box address and invited everyone to help.

In a follow up story about two months later, Greene reported that this fellow
had received *several million* replies from all over the country. Although
a few people dutifully had enclosed a penny scotch-taped to a piece of paper
as the column had instructed them to do, there were many, many folks who
took more pity on the 'poor college student' and sent one, five, ten or
twenty dollar bills. Greene's update on the situation said that the student
had received so much mail he had to hire someone to work *full time* for
him opening and logging mail recieved!

I don't remember the exact dates. This would have been several months ago.
I'm certain JJ got his idea from that column, since Bob Greene is carried
by alot of newspapers.

Patrick